The Wolf Among Sheep
by mintycannibal13
Summary: "I'm probably going to try to kill you one of these days, Hannibal." A smirk flitted across Hannibal Lecter's mouth, his eyes darkening not with anger, but with the prospect of a future challenge. "I'm looking forward to it." Warning: language, violence, crime scene descriptions, blood/gore, cannibalism, & sexual content
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything, but my own character! Everything else belongs to Thomas Harris & Bryan Fuller.

**A/N:** I had to change a few little facts so that it would fit, but other than that it pretty much follows the storyline of the episodes. I didn't change a couple lines because they were just too good to change, so don't freak out if you notice direct similarities! Enjoy, dearies! Reviews are encouraged!

* * *

Jack Crawford used his elbows to lean forward slightly on his desk, his fingers steepled. His dark eyes studied the young woman sitting in one of the spare chairs on the other side of his desk, her bright green eyes studying him in return. She tilted her head slightly, her wavy chin length dark blonde hair brushing against her cheek at the motion.

"Is there something on my face, Crawford?" she asked with a widening smile and Crawford chuckled in reply.

"No, no. I just haven't seen you since you were in the academy, Ava. You look...different." he answered, smiling. She laughed, shaking her head slightly.

"You mean I'm not chubby anymore and I cut my hair."

"I wasn't going to comment on your weight since I was too afraid you'd yell at me."

Ava Black laughed, a light and slightly hoarse sound. Crawford returned it with his own chuckling and they fell into a moment of silence. She knew that he hadn't called her to his office for idle chit-chat, but she knew she couldn't push him for information if he wasn't willing to give it to her. She'd have to wait until Crawford was ready to explain why he had called her here from D.C.

"I know you're wondering why I called you here, Ava, and I'm not sure you'll like why." Crawford said seriously, his smile falling away.

"Don't dance around it. That annoys me more than anything else." she retorted and he nodded.

"Of course. I'm sure you've heard on the news about the Minnesota Shrike and that I've called in Will Graham to give us some insight into the killer's mind."

Ava nodded, her interest sudden peaked. She _had_ heard of the case, especially in the capital, and she found it rather..._intriguing_ to the point of twisted fascination. The fact that Will Graham was also working on the case had also peaked her interest.

"Graham's a good choice, Crawford, but I still don't understand what this has to do with me."

"Well, there's only so far that Graham can go into the killer's mind before he loses himself and he starts retreating back into his cave. That's where you come in, Ava."

"You know I don't have a degree in psychology and I'm not a therapist. I'm just a simple FBI agent."

"Who has the uncanny ability to slip in and out of the minds of killers with ease and won't get disoriented like Graham."

An eerie smirk danced across Ava's lips, her eyes darkening slightly. _Oh, Jack, if only you knew the truth._ "So you'd like me to join Graham on the manhunt and take a look into the mind of your shrike?" she asked, her tone calm and almost holding no emotion. It surprised Crawford.

"Yes. Think you can get time off to meet Graham and Dr. Hannibal Lecter?"

"Oh, I think I can manage something."

* * *

"I don't understand why you need to bring in another FBI agent, Jack."

Hannibal Lecter's eyes watched Will Graham closely as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and Crawford exhaled softly. Hannibal glanced at the older agent, wondering the same thing. He thought Will was doing a rather impressive job on the case, despite his nightmares and anti-social behavior. Besides, Hannibal didn't want another agent getting in the way of him studying Will. He was far too fascinating.

"I think you're going to have to learn to share your shovel and bucket in the sandbox, Mr. Graham."

All three men turned their attention towards the door at the sound of the woman's voice. The woman standing in the doorway was rather petite with chin length wavy dark blonde hair and the greenest eyes that Hannibal and Will had ever seen. They were like emeralds sitting among eyeliner, thick lashes, dark freckles and fair skin. She was dressed in tight jeans that were tucked into almost knee-high brown leather boots and a red silk blouse underneath a black blazer jacket. Strapped to her belt was her standard issue Glock, FBI badge, and what the men guessed was a multi-tool.

"Ah, Ava. I'm glad you could join us." Crawford greeted her cheerfully, standing up as she walked further into his office.

She shook his hand while Hannibal and Will studied her. When she stepped passed them, Hannibal caught her peculiar scent of vanilla, bonfire smoke, and the woods after a heavy rain. She smelled like she had spent a significant time in the woods. He glanced at her boots, noticing she had tried to wipe away mud. Perhaps she was at a crime scene? That still didn't answer the question of the bonfire smoke. Hannibal's interest was slightly peaked by the female agent.

"I want you to meet Will Graham and Dr. Hannibal Lecter." Crawford nodded towards the other two men and Ava gave them a warm smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "This is Special Agent Ava Black and she's the one who will be joining the investigation."

"Maybe you can explain why it's necessary for you to join us, Agent Black." Will growled through clenched teeth, avoiding eye contact. She sat down in the chair to his side, opposite of Hannibal. Crawford settled back into his own chair.

Ava shot Crawford a glare. "Ava will do, Mr. Graham. I thought Crawford would have explained it to you previous to my arrival. Looks like I was clearly mistaken. I'm not here to step on your toes, Mr. Graham, but I am here to help get into the mind of your killer." she explained softly, glancing at Hannibal when he shifted in his seat. He was watching her with the most intense eyes she had ever seen.

He was broad in the chest and shoulders, built like a solid brick wall with sharp features. Calm seemed to radiate off him, not like his nervous, more wiry counterpart. Dressed in a formal suit, he was very handsome. A shiver ran down Ava's spine, like a shock to her system that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"What qualifies you to get into the mind of the killer? Do you work in the BAU or have any sort of psychological training?" Will asked and Ava tore her eyes away from the doctor.

"No, I don't work in the BAU and the only psychological training I have came from living with a serial killer for nearly fourteen years." Now, she _definitely_ had their attention.

Will's eyes rose from his lap to her face. "H-How?"

Crawford leaned back in his chair, knowing he needed to let Ava explain, but he watched everyone closely. He knew just how distrustful Will could be towards people, especially those who kept secrets. Even Hannibal seemed to be intrigued.

"My mother killed at least 30 people over a span of fourteen years. No one caught on because she generally spaced her victims out, managed to travel to states surrounding Nevada, and used the desert to her advantage. Besides, there's not really a profile on female serial killers." Ava shrugged easily, as if she were stating the weather or stock market prices. There were no fleeting emotions in her eyes, no sense of sorrow or betrayal.

The bit of information that Ava decided to keep to herself was the fact that she was the one who finally stopped her mother. Only 14-years-old, 120 pounds soaking wet and yet, she was still able to take down her mature mother who was use to killing victims larger than herself. Knowing that Will would be too distracted by her admission, Ava's eyes shifted towards Hannibal. He hadn't reacted like Will or even Crawford after the first time she had told him. Instead of being shocked or even horrified, the doctor was still studying her. Studying her like he was trying to decide something. It reminded Ava of the look her mother use to cast upon everyone she met, trying to decide whether or not they were worth her time or if she should just simply kill them. _Could he be...?_

"Do I qualify?" Ava asked, turning her eyes back to Will. His body was stiff, cautious. Perhaps he was worried that her mother had shared her taste for killing with Ava?

_She would have never been able to join the FBI if she were like her mother;_ Will's mind quickly supplied him, easing his tension. "Yes...I think you qualify." he muttered softly and a smirk tugged on her glossy pink lips.

"Wonderful. Why don't you take a look at Elise Nickles' body? We've already performed an autopsy, but I'd still like your imput." Crawford suggested and Ava once again shrugged easily.

"Why not? Couldn't hurt."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, but my own character. Everything else belongs to Thomas Harris and Bryan Fuller.

Enjoy!

* * *

They escorted her down to the autopsy room and even Hannibal had joined them. The crime scene investigators were surprised to see them, given they hadn't met Hannibal or Ava, and they were more surprised by Crawford's request to show Elise Nickles' body to the female agent. While they moved her onto the stainless steel table, Ava snapped on a pair of latex gloves with ease and when she turned to the victim's exposed body, there was no sudden intake of air. Instead of being shocked by the brutality of the crime, she merely stepped towards the table and bent low towards the piercings made by being mounted on antlers.

Will, with his usual shaking voice, explained what they had found in the initial autopsy and Ava nodded in response. She didn't say a single thing during the entire time they were down there, the coolness of the room pressing against their skin. When she finally decided she had a long enough look, she pulled off her gloves and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they seemed to be darker. She glanced to Hannibal, her gaze cold and calculating. He thought for a moment that she was upset about seeing the young woman's body, but he quickly realized it wasn't like that at all. She was staring at him with the eyes of a predator, one who seemed to be searching for her next prey.

When they finally exited the autopsy area, Ava walked a few steps behind the men, typing something on her phone. Hannibal noticed her nails were short, but manicured and painted black. Not something a typical FBI agent would have done. Their eyes connected in the elevator and Ava's lips twitched, as if she wasn't sure to smile or not. The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, but before the men could react, Ava pushed her way passed them to exit.

"Ava! Where are you going?" Crawford yelled at her as she walked towards the exit.

"He can apologize all he wants, Crawford, but he's going to keep killing. Let me know when you find something fresher. I have an appointment that I must attend." she called back over her shoulder and Crawford clenched his hands into fists. Will watched her retreating back with wide eyes while Hannibal frowned.

"Black!"

Ava waved to them before disappearing around a corner and Crawford let out a frustrated sigh. He had forgotten over the years just how difficult she could be, but he knew she worked better with fresher bodies and cases. Besides, she would continue to ignore him until the day they died if she didn't want to share. Instead, the older agent turned to Hannibal and Will, instructing them to go home until they had a lead, given that the crime lab was still processing everything. Both men nodded and quickly exited the building. With another frustrated sigh, Crawford disappeared into his office.

* * *

Screams ripped through the cold air, quickly followed by a groan of pain. Ava exhaled, her breath visible in white puffs, and her darkened eyes moved up and down, eyeing up the man before her. He was young, only in his late twenties, but he looked so much older. His body was thin, almost fragile looking, but Ava knew better. She knew there was hidden strength in his wiry muscles, enough strength to put three women in the hospital and enough to kill at least two others. She hadn't been on the case, but she heard about it from one of her local police contacts. A pimp who specialized in young women, some barely legal and who could get away with whatever he wanted. His girls serviced high ranking drug dealers and politicians.

"'You can scream all you want, but no one's going to hear you.' Isn't that what they say in the movies? Well, Marco, it's true. There isn't a single soul for five miles each way." she breathed, her voice cold and even. Her face was impassive. She couldn't even feel anger anymore, but she knew it was the appropriate emotion for this moment.

Anger for the lives of the women and young girls that this _man_ had destroyed Anger for the two dead girls who looked like they should be busy worrying about lip gloss and prom and not hooking on the street because someone had promised them something more. Something that would put everything they had done for fun to shame. Something that got them hooked on drugs and passing around sexual diseases like notes.

Another heavy exhale and another bout of screaming filled the air. In these moments, she truly felt like her mother's daughter and it only spurred her on to prove she was nothing like her mother. Her mother had killed without purpose and because she felt like it. Ava killed because she was doing something good to make up for the lack of it within herself. There was nothing left, just a mere shell of what she use to be, but she supposed that was better than being dead.

"Keep fucking screaming!" she instructed sharply, stepping closer to Marco. He did just that, at the top of his lungs, and she got only a few inches away from his face, screaming in return.

* * *

Ava woke to the sound of her phone ringing, shaking her from the most restful sleep she had had in months. Biting back a few colorful curses, she quickly picked up her phone, hitting the answer button.

"Black." she muttered sleepily.

"_I think we have something fresher for you._" Crawford's rough reply erased all traces of sleep from her mind. She sat up, reaching to flip on the bedside lamp.

"Where?"

"_Hibbing, Minnesota. I want you to ride with Graham and I. We'll pick you up in twenty minutes._"

Ava hung up and threw her phone on her bed, rushing to the bathroom. She had just enough time to take a quick shower, fix her make-up from the day before, and put on a half-way decent outfit of jeans, short brown boots, and a red plaid button-down shirt underneath a loose gray sweater. She strapped her gun, badge, and multi-tool to her belt and shoved her phone in her pocket. Grabbing her light-weight dark brown pea coat and brown leather shoulder bag, she rushed out of her apartment, locking it, and opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Will greeted her in the lobby of her apartment building, giving her a small wave with a rather grim look on his face. With a gruff greeting, he lead her out of the building to where Crawford was waiting behind the wheel of his car. Will offered her the front seat, which she took, and he climbed into the back seat. They barely had their doors closed and seat belts on before Crawford shifted out of park and took off.

"Is it so bad that you have to risk an accident, Jack?" Ava scolded as he swerved in-between cars and she could practically hear Will shaking in his seat behind her. Crawford simply gripped the steering wheel tighter, his entire body tense.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, but my own character. Everything else belongs to Thomas Harris and Bryan Fuller.

I'm a bit nervous about this chapter, so I hope everyone enjoys it!

* * *

"Okay, it's bad." Ava muttered as she pulled on a pair of blue latex gloves.

She was standing with Will and Crawford, all eyes on the display before them. A young woman who looked just like the rest of the Minnesota Shrike's victims was mounted on the antlers of a severed stag's head, her arms spread wide. She was completely naked and her chest was cut open. The stag's head was being supported by rocks that had been piled around it. Crows cawed as they landed on her body and Ava watched as one of the crime scene investigators she had meet the day before shooed away the birds.

"The stag head was reported stolen last night about a mile from here." Crawford said, his voice laced with anger. Will seemed glued to his spot several feet away from the body. Ava, on the other hand, stepped closer.

"Just the head?" Will asked, swallowing hard.

Ava rolled her eyes at his question, but she knew he was trying to process the scene before him. She glanced at crime scene investigator, Brian Zeller, silently asking him if she could touch the body, and he gave her a stiff nod. She gently pulled back the two sides of the pristine cut, brow furrowing slightly as she looked into the chest cavity of the victim.

"Her lungs are missing." she announced, glancing at Will. He swallowed hard again and began pacing.

"I'm pretty sure he cut them out when she was still alive." Zeller commented and it was Ava's turn to swallow hard. She hadn't been expecting such a level of violence from the Shrike, especially since he so gently laid Elise Nickles back in her bed in apology.

"Think he's getting sloppy or just being shrewd?" Crawford asked and Will shook his head. Ava stepped away from the body, the tips of her fingers red with blood.

"H-He wanted her to be found like this. He's mocking her or mocking us." Will said, finally walking towards the body and he bent down slightly. Crawford watched him carefully.

"Where did all his love go?"

"Whoever did this wasn't the one who tucked Elise Nickles into her bed." Ava's tone was cold and the two men and the crime scene investigators turned to her. "He would have never demonstrated this amount of violence."

"Ava's right. Our cannibal doesn't want to destroy women, he wants to consume them. He loves them too much and he wants to keep something of them inside himself. This girl's killer thought she was a pig."

"A copycat, perhaps?" Ava asked as Will began walking away. He quickly turned back around.

"The cannibal who killed Elise Nickles had a house or maybe a cabin. A place that afforded him privacy. Somewhere with an antler room. He has no interest in field kabuki." Will's eyes lit up like he had just realized something, making an invisible connection in his mind. "He has a daughter, the same age and physical type as the victims. She's an only child and she's leaving home. He can't stand that she's leaving. He doesn't want to lose her. She's his golden ticket."

"What about the copycat?" Crawford called out as Will started leaving once again and Ava only partially listened to Will's explanation of why it would be difficult to catch the copycat. She was far too busy staring at the body.

Only when Will mentioned Hannibal did Ava pull her attention back to him. Maybe it was time for her to pay the good doctor a visit.

* * *

Hannibal looked up from his writings when he heard the knock on his office door. He quickly glanced at his watch, confused. He wasn't expecting any patients and so, he put his pen down and closed his journal before standing. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Ava standing in the waiting room.

"Agent Black. Do you have an appointment?" he asked calmly. She was surprised by his accent, considering he hadn't spoken when they met, but she found it rather nice. Recovering quickly, she gave him a crooked smile.

"No, unfortunately I don't, Dr. Lecter. I was hoping that you take me as a walk-in." she chuckled, having the grace to look embarrassed. He studied her for a moment before stepping to the side to let her enter, a soft smile playing across his lips.

"Of course. It would be rude of me to turn you away."

Ava stepped into his office, glancing around with wide eyes. "You have a beautiful office, Dr. Lecter. I feel a bit under-dressed just being in here."

She was still dressed in her outfit she wore to the field with Will and Crawford, only she was without her leather bag. There was a newspaper tucked under her arm. Hannibal shut the door and stepped towards her.

"Thank you and you look fine. A bit unusual for a FBI agent, though." he said, his face blank and Ava shrugged.

"They kind of gave up on trying to get me to wear pantsuits or pressed slacks. I'm usually in the field and I don't want to necessarily look like an FBI agent. People will usually feel more at ease approuching you if you are wearing street clothing."

Hannibal nodded in agreement, his eyes falling on the newspaper. "What brings you to my office, Agent Black?"

"Ava, please. I came because of this." She held up the newspaper, which had a picture of the field and FBI on the front page. "I'm sure you've seen it already, what with Freddie Lounds and Tattlecrime. The newspaper pictures never do me justice." Her eyes scanned over the photo, taking in her and Will standing together. "I'm also sure Mr. Graham is going to share with you."

"Yes, I read about the murder and I have spoken to Jack on the phone. He says that you and Will think it's a copycat." Hannibal tucked his hands into his pants pockets and Ava studied him for a moment. He was so much larger than her, powerful in his stance, but she didn't feel fear. She wasn't sure what real fear felt like anymore. What she felt was akin to understanding.

"Yes, well, I'm sure Crawford is more inclined to believe Mr. Graham than me. I'm not even sure he trusts me."

"I'm sure he trusts you enough to bring you into the case. Why would you doubt him?"

"Folie à deux. I'm sure you're familiar with the term, Dr. Lecter. I'm afraid that Crawford and Mr. Graham both believe that I share the same madness that my mother did."

Hannibal tilted his chin up ever so slightly, pulling his hands out of his pants pocket. He motioned towards the chairs that were situated across from each other, facing. Ava took one seat while Hannibal took the other. She felt like she was in therapy again, like when she was younger.

"Do you believe that, Ava?" Hannibal asked and she suppressed a shiver that his accent caused when pronouncing her name.

"Depends, Dr. Lecter." she said, leaning forward slightly. Hannibal copied her stance, staring into her impossibly green eyes.

"On what?"

"Whether or not you share the same madness as well." A rather cold smirk tugged one corner of her mouth up. Hannibal was rather surprised that she could see right through him, though he would never admit it. His dark eyes narrowed. "I won't tell anyone if you do, Dr. Lecter."

"Why should I trust you not to?"

"I would only be exposing myself in the process and I have no physical evidence. Tell me, do you kill because it makes you feel whole or do you do it to satisfy some other urge? I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Hannibal clicked his tongue. "Quid pro quo, Ava? What would give me the idea that you're telling the truth?"

A sharp laugh left her as she shook her head. "I know you can see through me just as I can see through you. Killers can't hide from each other. It's like we have a flashing neon sign over our heads that only other killers or the truly mad can see. I could see my mother's even before I knew what she was and before I became what I am."

"Does that mean you share the same madness as your mother?" Ava frowned at his question, leaning back in her seat.

"I am nothing like my mother." she hissed through clenched teeth and Hannibal smirked lightly.

"Perhaps not now, but I'm sure you were at some point in your life. Maybe during your first kill?"

"So, you believe me?"

Hannibal leaned back in his own chair, running his fingers over the edges of his suit jacket. "I would be able to tell if you were lying, Ava. I don't believe you are."

Ava chuckled lightly, a rather empty sound. Her head felt like it was spinning, like she was moving too quickly and there was nothing that could stop her. She had spent the last fifteen years covering her tracks, making sure that no one would ever find out the truth about her, but all that caution went out the window the moment she met Hannibal. They studied each other in silence for several minutes, as if they were trying to decide whether or not to continue talking about murder or if they should talk about something more personal. Hannibal decided to break the silence first.

"How is it that you were able to join the FBI? I'm sure they have a screening process in which they weed out those who are mentally unfit." he inquired and there was no insulting tone in his voice. He wasn't intending to insult her in anyway given he would never be so rude.

"One of the first things my mother taught me was manipulation. Manipulate someone just enough to get what you want. Despite the FBI's extensive testing, I was still able to manipulate them all, including the poloygraph. It's not like I'm going to suddenly go on a killing spree and I actually do enjoy solving cases and putting criminals in jail." she explained, propping her head up with her hand, her elbow resting on the armrest. Her eyes darkened and there was a smirk playing on Hannibal's lips.

"Then why kill? If you feel satisfied enough to put criminals in jail and bring peace to the victims' families, why continue?"

"I didn't say I was satisfied with solving cases. My mother killed because she wanted to, because it was more of a hobby to her. Other mothers had knitting and my mother had blood and murder. Plain and simple."

"There is nothing simple about murder, Ava. If you are not like your mother, then why do you kill?"

Ava closed her eyes, exhaling softly. "At first I didn't know why. It took me up to my fourth kill to realize that I was doing it because I was filling a void." She opened her eyes and they were completely empty. "I lack any sort of true emotion. I only kill those who have done something wrong: murder, rape, or any other major crime. Usually, my victims are low risk, easily untracable. I kill them to rid the world of another criminal, to put some good into me that I naturally lack."

Hannibal continued to watch her closely, drinking in every word she said like fine wine. He knew there was something peculiar about her, but he hadn't been expecting her to be a serial killer. Though it sounded like she was just that and not a cannibal. A surge of disappointment rushed through him at the thought, but he quickly suppressed it, deciding that her admission was enough. For now.

"We barely know each other, Ava. Why do you feel so comfortable in trusting that I will not use what you are admitting to against you?" Hannibal asked, their eyes connecting.

A slow smirk lifted up one side of Ava's mouth. "I may not be as fascinating as Will Graham, Dr. Lecter, but you're still intrigued by me. Intrigued by the FBI agent who can pass as normal, but is not. I'm like a puzzle you want to solve and you won't do anything to me until you're done." she said and Hannibal hated to admit that she was right. _What a clever little girl._

When Hannibal seemed satisfied with her answer, he stood up and she followed. He moved towards the exit, opening the door. Ava stopped in front of him, looking up into his dark eyes. They stood only half a foot apart, close enough for either of them to strike out, but they didn't move. Merely stared. It was something that Ava thought she could do for a long period of time: just stare at Hannibal Lecter and never grow tired of it.

"Have a safe drive home, Ava." Hannibal practically purred, his accent deepening slightly. Another shiver rushed through Ava's body, but this time she didn't try to suppress or ignore it. "My door is always open to you."

"I'll try to make an appointment next time. I don't want to be rude and unprofessional." Ava stated, but there was a tone of teasing in her voice. "Goodnight, Dr. Lecter."

"Goodnight, Ava."


End file.
